Entrepreneur decides to relinquish throne as banking adviser appointed to
steward sales approaches

Will King, founder of the British shaving brand King of Shaves, is to relinquish his throne after 21 years.

Mr King, one of the UK’s best known entrepreneurs, is standing down as chief executive of the Beaconsfield-based business. He will be succeeded as chief executive by Andy Hill, who has worked with Mr King since 1995 and will join the board.

Mr King will remain on the board in a non-executive capacity, however, and as the largest individual shareholder. He turns 50 next year, and wants to focus on other investments as well as coaching other entrepreneurs.

His decision, which was posted in a blog on his website, comes as The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that he has appointed the boutique investment bank William Blair to run a sales process that could value the business at more than £50m.

The appointment is understood to follow an approach in June from a technology-based buyer, keen to emulate the success of Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s in the US.

Both businesses offer online subscriptions for razors and other grooming products.

William Blair is now understood to be talking to a number of possible suitors.

The appointment follows an aborted sales process a few years ago, which valued the business at the time at $40m (£25m). Since then, KoS has launched the Hyperglide razor, which requires water rather than shaving foam or oil.

Mr King launched the business in 1993, using £15,000 of seed capital, and initially focused on shaving oils, once standing at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London, with a megaphone to sell his wares.

The business has grown to be an international operation, although most of the manufacturing takes place in the UK.

In Britain, KoS is one of the top three selling brands, and its products can be found in shops from the US to Japan.

Other significant shareholders include Mr King’s brother Doug, a City fund manager, and Kai Industries of Japan, which makes razors, knives and cutlery. Kai supplies the blade for the Hyperglide razor.

The business has been involved in a number of firsts, including the launch of the first British-made razor – the Azor – in more than 100 years in 2008 and the issue of the first retail bond in the UK.

As well as the business, KoS owns the potentially lucrative shave.com domain name.